Buffett & Gates Ask Rich To Give 50% Of Their Wealth

I saw this headline while I was flipping through some news on my phone and couldn’t believe my eyes. You can’t help but be excited to see that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates (the world’s richest men) being so liberal in their generosity. But I was really surprised to find out that they are putting pressure on other billionaires to do the same…

Investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced on Wednesday that they are asking hundreds of billionaire Americans to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity.

I don’t know where Warren & Bill are with God, but it is great to see them behaving as great role models in terms of their generous giving. And with the amount of influence that the two of them carry, I anticipate that philanthropy will become more in fashion. While I can think of “better” things that could be done with the billions, I am just glad to see that millions of peoples lives will be better off – rather than it all going to their children.

They have named the campaign the Giving Pledge and are asking those who commit to giving away at least half their fortune during their lifetime or after their death to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision.

Eli Broad has been influenced by Buffett…

Broad and his wife Edythe said in a statement that they will pledge to give away 75 percent of their wealth during and after their lifetime. Forbes has estimated Broad to be worth $5.7 billion.

“We agree with Andrew Carnegie’s wisdom that ‘The man who dies rich, dies disgraced,’ and we also believe ‘he who gives while he lives also knows where it goes,'” the couple said. “Philanthropy is unbelievably rewarding.”

I love this part…

The Giving Pledge will not accept any money; it is simply asking billionaires to make a moral commitment to give away their wealth to charity.

What does this mean for us?

I don’t know about you, but seeing people not impacted by Jesus’ love giving like this convicts me. As Christians liberal giving (in every area) is in our DNA. God is the premier giver and we are made in His likeness and image. I take what these guys are doing as a personal challenge to evaluate where I can give more in my life. I desire to give large amounts financially, but even if I can’t we all have something we can give.

What does this mean for us?

I don’t know about you, but seeing people not impacted by Jesus’ love giving like this convicts me. As Christians liberal giving (in every area) is in our DNA. God is the premier giver and we are made in His likeness and image. I take what these guys are doing as a personal challenge to evaluate where I can give more in my life. I desire to give large amounts financially, but even if I can’t we all have something we can give.

What does The Giving Pledge do for you?

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Thanks for bringing this up. I believe I saw the same report. The idea started with 14 or so billionaires at an exclusive dinner. I must admit, my first thought was that they would discuss how to get richer and capitalize off their wealth. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong and ashamed of my pre-judgement.

Bob,
So many of us might be rationalizing our lack of charity with, “Of course those guys can do it. They still have billions left after giving 50%.” But your last paragraph addresses this well. We should be inspired to give more than we do, and all of us can give something.

I hadn’t seen this headline, thank you so much for sharing it! It is exciting to see such generosity being pledged! I certainly hope “that philanthropy will become more in fashion”. That would be an amazing change, and I would love to see how the world can be improved because of it.

I’ve always known that Gates and Buffett were quite generous with their wealth, but I love them challenging other billionaires to follow in their footsteps.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, I believe, are atheists.

Stephanie

June 21, 2010

Assuming they are atheists, (which I don’t know for sure) then this is a beautiful example of the Lord’s common grace at work. It’s awesome to see how God is using people who don’t believe to do good works. All good things are gifts from above.

Twanda Robinson

June 26, 2010

If I could talk to just one rich person, I would ask for $750.00 for my rent just to see if they would give it up to me, a stranger. I do not believe they give as much as is reported. Even if I proved that I owe rent for the month of June, I bet they would not willing pay it for me. It would definitely take an act of God.

It is my understanding that many of the uber rich create and give to their own non-profit foundations as a way to shelter their wealth from taxation.

Stephanie

June 27, 2010

Twanda –

Do you really think asking someone to pay your rent is an accurate way to judge their generosity, or their heart? If it were me, I would have to know why you couldn’t pay your rent. It would have to be a good reason, not because you went on a shopping spree or ran up credit cards and now don’t have any cash left. If you were genuinly in need and were responsible, hard working and just fell on bad times, then that’s a better reason, but I wouldn’t make it a habbit… Just my opinion.

I think the rich often get too attached to their money and have a harder time giving it away so this is impressive.

Also, I like it when rich people who know how to invest well think about how they give their money away. This usually helps it get spent more effectively than when the government taxes us and tries to use the money well.

Recently, forty more rich people signed up for the Giving Pledge

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